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CinefestOZ

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CinefestOZ
LocationSouth West region,
Western Australia
Founded2008; 16 years ago (2008)
Websitecinefestoz.com Edit this at Wikidata

CinefestOZ is an annual film festival that takes place over five days in the South West region of Western Australia. IndigifestOZ is a section of the festival devoted to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers. The CinefestOZ Film Prize of A$100,000 is the richest film prize in the country.

History

The CinefestOZ film festival was founded in 2008 by David Barton and Helen Shervington, "as a cultural celebration of the French bicentenary of Antipodean exploration of the South West corner of Western Australia". The opening film at the inaugural festival was the highly-acclaimed Australian film Black Balloon.[1]

The inaugural CinefestOZ Film Prize was awarded in 2014.[2]

In July 2023 it was announced that funding for the festival would continue for at least a further three years, until 2025.[3]

Description

The events are staged in Busselton, the Margaret River wine region,[4] Bunbury,[5] Dunsborough,[6] and Augusta.[7] The festival showcases Australian and French films.[7] As of 2023 it is a 6-day event.[3]

The festival awards the CinefestOZ Film Prize of A$100,000, to feature films and documentaries first screened in Western Australia.[7] The CinefestOZ prize is the largest cash film prize in Australia, and one of the largest in the world,[6][8] and is decided by a jury of five Australian and international filmmakers.[3] The festival has staged IndigifestOZ since 2015, which provides a showcase for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander filmmakers,[1] screened for free as "Community Days".[3]

The film festival is supported by Tourism Western Australia, Screenwest, Lotterywest, and Screen Australia.[3] Chair of the festival as of 2023 is Margaret Buswell.[2]

Recent editions

The 2021 festival was the 14th edition, taking place from 25 to 29 August 2021.[9] The feature documentary film Under the Volcano, produced by WA producer Cody Greenwood[5] and directed by Gracie Otto, had its Australian premiere at the festival,[10] while Akoni, a film about a Nigerian refugee struggling to integrate into Australian society by Australian filmmaker Genna Chanelle Hayes, had its world premiere.[11][12] The Australian drama film Nitram, based on the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, won the 2021 Film Prize.[8][13]

For the 16th edition in 2023, the awards jury was chaired by Australian director Robert Connolly,[14] with production designer (Game of Thrones, The Matrix) Deborah Riley; South Park producer Debbie Liebling; and actors Mia Wasikowska and Rob Collins the other members. Four films competed for the prize: Matt Vesely's Monolith; Noora Niasari's Shayda; Mark Leonard Winter's The Rooster; and Bromley: Light After Dark.[2] Shayda won the prize.[15]

CinefestOz Film Prize Winners

References

  1. ^ a b "Festival History". CinefestOZ Film Festival (in Bosnian). 25 October 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Bunch, Aaron (25 August 2023). "Stars head west for Australia's richest film prize". PerthNow. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d e Balchand, Jason (26 July 2023). "CinefestOZ Film Festival Set To Return for Three More Years". So Perth. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  4. ^ "The Festival". CinefestOZ Film Festival. 25 October 2018. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b "CinefestOZ 2021 kicks off to sold out crowds". CinefestOZ Film Festival. 27 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  6. ^ a b "Geographe French Australian Festivals Incorporated: CinefestOZ". Screen Australia. 23 April 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  7. ^ a b c Keating, Rebecca (26 August 2021). "Every reason you need to go to CinefestOZ Film Festival in magical Margaret River". Urban List. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  8. ^ a b "'Nitram' Claims First Prize At in-Person CinefestOZ Festival". Variety. 30 August 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  9. ^ "Program". CinefestOZ Film Festival. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. ^ "Under the Volcano". Rush. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Genna Chanelle Hayes Film Akoni to Have World Premiere at CinefestOZ, Augusta". The Curb. 28 July 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  12. ^ Keast, Jackie (25 August 2021). "Genna Chanelle Hayes' 'Akoni' is an indie labour of love". IF Magazine. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  13. ^ O'Shea, Ben (28 August 2021). "Martin Bryant film Nitram wins $100,000 CinefestOZ prize as WA premiere screens in Busselton". PerthNow. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  14. ^ Slatter, Sean (13 July 2023). "'Bromley: Light After Dark', 'Monolith', 'Shayda', 'The Rooster' up for $100,000 CinefestOZ prize". IF Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  15. ^ Slatter, Sean (3 September 2023). "Noora Niasari's 'Shayda' wins $100,000 CinefestOZ prize". IF Magazine. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
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